Learning sciences advances understanding of the learning process and the design of innovative learning environments. This interdisciplinary, research-based field originated at Northwestern University, where the School of Education and Social Policy started the first learning sciences program in the world to help people develop the skills needed for an increasingly complex world.
PhD in Learning Sciences
Students become qualified as researchers, developers and practitioners who advance the scientific understanding and practice of teaching and learning.
PhD in Computer Science and Learning Sciences (CS+LS)
This program builds on enduring and growing connections between research on learning and computation.
Masters in Learning Sciences
Students learn to advance the understanding and practice of teaching and learning in formal and informal settings.
Meet Our Learning Sciences Alumni
Alumni of the Learning Sciences program advance to leadership positions in academic, nonprofit and business organizations. Master's graduates work as educational designers, consultants, training providers and school technologists. PhD graduates excel as researchers with universities, government agencies and private firms.
See what our Learning Sciences PhD alumni are doing.News
Stay current with the latest news from our Learning Sciences program.
SESP Heads to AERA 2018
More than three dozen Northwestern University faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and students from the School of Education and Social Policy are scheduled to participate in the 2018 annual American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting in New York City.
Spillane Addresses Principals in Hong Kong and Hangzhou
James Spillane, an expert on school leadership and educational policy at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, conducted a workshop on educational infrastructure design and delivered two keynote speeches for hundreds of principals and administrators during a recent spring trip to Hong Kong and Hangzhou.
Fuse Grant Recipient Launches Program in Peoria
Failure is an opportunity in Greg Gilson’s first-hour class, the FUSE studio at Manual Academy, said Pam Adams in the Peoria Journal Star. “There are no assignments, no classroom lectures, no traditional grades.”